David is a partner at Wordstone Dispute Resolution and leads the firm’s Washington, D.C. office. His practice focuses on public international law, investment arbitration, and complex commercial disputes, informed by more than two decades of experience across government service, academia, and private practice.

David is widely recognized as a “truly public international law lawyer,” a reputation shaped by sixteen years of service at the U.S. Department of State. He joined the Department in 2010 to work on investment treaty disputes and ultimately served as Chief of Investment Arbitration from 2023 to 2026. In that role, he oversaw the United States’ defense of approximately $17 billion in claims before ICSID and PCA tribunals.

From 2016 to 2019, David was posted in The Hague, where he served as Deputy Agent for the United States at the International Court of Justice, U.S. Agent to the Iran‑U.S. Claims Tribunal, and the U.S. point of contact to the International Criminal Court. His broader government portfolio included representing the United States in the UN General Assembly’s Sixth Committee, advising on Security Council and International Law Commission matters, and serving as a U.S. delegate to UNCITRAL Working Group III, the Hague Conference on Private International Law, and the Administrative Council of the Permanent Court of Arbitration. The State Department honored him with seven Superior Honor Awards for his contributions.

Before entering government service, David practiced for nearly a decade in the international disputes groups of two global law firms. He represented clients in commercial arbitration, sovereign debt matters, and securities litigation, appearing before ICSID, PCA, AAA/ICDR, ICC, and HKIAC tribunals, as well as in U.S. federal and state courts.

David is an active scholar and educator. He has authored numerous publications on international dispute resolution and investment arbitration and has held leadership roles within the American Society of International Law, including service on its Executive Council. As an adjunct professor at Georgetown University Law Center, he designed and teaches a course on interstate disputes and has previously taught advanced seminars on international arbitration and the philosophy of international responsibility. He has lectured at leading universities across the United States and Europe.

A frequent speaker at international conferences, David has presented at programs organized by UNCITRAL, ICSID, PCA, ICDR, ASIL, the U.S. Department of Commerce, and institutions across Europe, Asia, and the Americas.

David’s depth of experience, strategic insight, and long‑standing leadership in international dispute resolution strengthen Wordstone’s global practice and enhance the firm’s capabilities in Washington and beyond.

• Representing the United States in numerous investor-state arbitrations, including TC Energy Corporation and TransCanada Pipelines Ltd. v. United States of America, Alberta Petroleum Marketing Commission v. United States of America, Optima Ventures LLC, Optima 7171 LLC and Optima 55 Public Square LLC v. United States of America, Apotex Inc. v. United States of America (“Apotex I & II”), and Apotex Holdings, Inc. and Apotex Inc. v. United States of America (“Apotex III”).
• Filing over three dozen non-disputing party treaty submissions in investment arbitrations arising under various treaties including the NAFTA, USMCA, CAFTA-DR, U.S.-Oman FTA, U.S.-Peru TPA, U.S.-Vietnam BTA, and U.S.-Colombia TPA.
• Representing the United States in matters before the International Court of Justice, including Alleged Violations of the 1955 Treaty of Amity, Economic Relations, and Consular Rights; and Certain Iranian Assets.
• Representing the United States before the Iran-U.S. Claims Tribunal, including in Cases A/15(II:A), A/15(IV), and B/1.
• Representing creditors in sovereign debt enforcement matters in U.S. courts, including NML Capital Inc. v. Republic of Argentina and EM Ltd. v. Republic of Argentina.
• Representing GE Transportation Systems in GE Transportation Systems v. MWM GmbH (W.D. Pa.).
• Representing a Korean state-owned entity in Murphy v. Korea Asset Management Corporation (S.D.N.Y.).
• Representing a state-owned entity in confidential ICC arbitration involving the steel industry.
• Representing a U.S. company in confidential ICDR arbitration involving the telecommunications industry.
• Representing non-profit arts association in dissolution proceedings in New York state courts.
• Representing death row inmates in habeas corpus petitions in U.S. courts, including in McWhorter v. State (Alabama state courts) and Speed v. State (Georgia state courts).

Harvard Law School, Juris Doctor (cum laude), 2001

Rutgers University, Bachelor of Arts (Political Science and Middle Eastern Studies), 1998

New York
[Washington DC Pending]

• The Peaceful Settlement of Disputes, in Krista Nadakavukaren Schefer and Thomas Cottier (eds.), Elgar Encyclopedia of International Economic Law (2nd edition) (2026)
• Eye for an Eye: High Compensation Awards as Undue Punishment, American University International Law Review (2025)
• Interstate Dispute Resolution at a Crossroads: Reconsidering the I’m Alone Arbitration, 46 Hastings International and Comparative Law Review 91 (2023)
• International Rule of Law Without International Courts, 21 Law and Practice of International Courts and Tribunals 483 (2022) (peer-reviewed)
• The U.S. and International Courts and Tribunals: A Historical Approach to the Current Dilemma, 114 Proceedings of the American Society of International Law 89 (2021)
• The Justifications for the Promotion of Religious Diversity on the International Bench, in Freya Baetens (ed.), Identity and Diversity on the International Bench: Who is the Judge? (Oxford University Press, 2020)
• The Practice of Judging, 112 Proceedings of the American Society of International Law 237 (2019)
• Judicial Economy in Investor-State Disputes, Kluwer Arbitration Blog (2017)
• Ascertaining the Content of the Applicable Law and Iura Novit Tribunus: Approaches in Commercial and Investment Arbitration, 70(2) Dispute Res. J. 1 (2015)
  • Republished in Spanish, in Retos Contemporaneos del Arbitraje Internacional (2018)
• The Potential for Arbitrators to Refer Suspicions of Corruption to Domestic Authorities, Transnational Dispute Management (2013(3)) (peer-reviewed)
• Can Investors Use MFN to Dodge Transparency?, Transnational Dispute Management (2011(2)) (peer-reviewed)
• Iura Novit Curia in Investor-State Arbitration: May? Must?, Kluwer Arbitration Blog (2011)
• USA, The International Comparative Legal Guide to Litigation and Dispute Resolution (2008, 2009)
• Expanded Review of Awards: A Door Shuts, Another Opens?, New York Law Journal (April 23, 2008)
  • Republished in Portuguese, in 19 Revista de Arbitragem e Mediaҫao 365 (2008)
• Manifest Disregard after Hall Street, 13(2) IBA Arb. Newsl. 46 (September 2008)
• Underwater Treasure Gives Rise to Sovereign Disputes, Developments in Sovereign Disputes (2008)
• Bring on the Bluewash: A Social Constructivist Argument Against Using Nike v. Kasky to Attack the UN Global Compact, International Legal Perspectives (2004)
• Conflict in the Zimbabwean Courts: Women’s Rights and Indigenous Self-Determination in Magaya v. Magaya, 13 Harv. Hum. Rts. J. 289 (2000)